Book Review: Hunting Prince Dracula

Audrey Rose Wadsworth is haunted by the Jack the Ripper case and his true identity. Luckily, she is off on a new adventure that will take her mind off of it. Her father has agreed to let her study at a school for forensic medicine in Romania. She and Thomas Cresswell journey together. On the train there, a passenger is murdered with a stake through the heart. Rumors that Vlad the Impaler has risen and is killing again. Audrey Rose and Cresswell find themselves drawn into another puzzle, desperate to solve the murders before they are next.

I enjoyed this book, but found it lacking in some ways. I continue to really like Audrey Rose and her inquisitive drive. I love her desire for independence and her insistence that if she were ever to get married, she be an equal partner. I continue to really enjoy her and Cresswell’s relationship, flirtation banter, and support of one another. And I really liked the new characters, particularly Daciana. The atmosphere of the book is suitably creepy and the castle sounds really kind of amazing.

The mystery, however, didn’t really interest me. I knew Dracula wasn’t behind the killings, because these books aren’t supernatural in nature. There were a few hints as to who the murderer might be, but no real clues. Consequently, the ending seemed quite out of the blue and not in a, “Wow, I never saw that coming!” kind of way. It was more of a, “Huh. Really?”

I will read the next one because the strength of these books is the characters and their relationships. But this one kind of underwhelmed me.